From left, Sachin Sahel as Jackson and Paige Turco as Abby in the CW show, “The 100.”(Courtesy of Cate Cameron/The CW)

Sachin Sahel can’t believe his luck.

“It’s amazing what has been happening with me,” he says during a recent interview. “It’s been a journey to get where I am and I wouldn’t change it.”

While many may not know Sahel’s name, the fans of CW’s “The 100,” know him as Jackson. The series airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays.

With his role in the TV series — it also got picked up for another season — Sahel says he is following in the footsteps of Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari.

Sahel stars alongside Isaiah Washington in the sci-fi series.

“The 100″ is set in a post-nuclear Armageddon that decimated the planet and it only left a few survivors to live on an international space station.

Now 97 years later, the leaders have exiled a group of 100 juvenile prisoners to return to Earth’s surface and test if it’s habitable and leaving the survival of the human race entirely in their hands.

“This is the perfect project for a sci-fi geek like me to work on,” he says. “When I read for the part, it was like I was supposed to be on the show.”

In fact, Sahel says his first day on the show, he was taken back by Washington and the other cast members such as Paige Turco.

“It was just me watching these people and what they were bringing to the series,” he says. “The look on my face in the pilot episode is priceless because I didn’t know what to expect. I was in awe of the entire cast, not to mention the project.”

Actor Sachin Sahel stars in the CW drama, “The 100.”

Sahel describes his character — Dr. Jackson — at the apprentice to Turco’s Dr. Abby, who is in charge.

He says Abby’s main job is to take care of everyone on the arc.

“Jackson is there to make sure Abby is OK as she is taking care of the entire human race,” he says. “He’s learning a lot along the way and I can’t wait to see where the next season goes.”

Sahel says all 13 episodes were filmed right away and the series has developed a cult following.

“It’s been really cool to see all of the reaction from the fans on the Internet,” he says. “A lot of them are just like me. I’m a sci-fi geek who is living a dream being on this show. The writing is excellent and really pushes us with our characters.”

Sahel says he is excited that the writing is strong because a lot of sci-fi material can be on the campy side.

“The writing always leaves you wanting more at the end of the episode,” he says. “In the few episodes that hae aired, there has been an extraordinary amount of stuff covered. We’ve also had so many different storylines in the first five episodes.”

Sahel was born in Edmonton, Canada, and grew up watching Bollywood movies which helped spark his love for acting and dancing, but his education was always put first by his hard working Indian immigrant parents. After graduating from University of Alberta with a degree in Psychology, Sahel was able to pursue his dream and not long after, he landed guest roles in hit shows such as CW’s “Smallville,” “Arrow” as well as FOX’s “Fringe.”

“I thank my lucky stars that my parents made me go to university,” he says. “I think that everyone should experience the university setting in their life. It’s a dynamic place where you learn how to deal with other people and look for answers. I also got to get a handle on the business aspect of the industry.”

Sahel says he continues to take acting lessons and learn from others.

“There’s no greater teacher than life,” he says. “If you pay attention, you can pick up some great advice along the way. You just have to be open to it.”

Sahel says finishing his degree was something he did for his parents.

“I used to look at my grades and think to myself, “How am I going to be a doctor or lawyer like my mom wants,’ ” he says. “But now I’m doing what I love and I play a doctor on TV. I think that’s close enough to make my mom happy.”

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About Adrian

He re-joined the Journal in 2006 after a stint as features editor at Las Cruces Sun-News and as a front-page designer at the North County Times in Southern California. He worked for the Journal while studying journalism and Spanish at UNM where he graduated from in 2001.

He took over the Assistant Arts Editor position in 2010 and inherited the Reel NM column — which highlights New Mexicans who work within the film industry.

Adrian is a native of New Mexico and aside from entertainment, has covered cops, border issues, county government and politics.

In his spare time, he is either listening to music or immersing himself in TV and film.